1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to accessories for stringed musical instruments, and in particular to string winding devices.
2. Prior Art
In guitars and other stringed musical instruments, a musician is required to change strings not only for sound aesthetics, but also if he encounters a broken or deteriorating string. If the old guitar string is intact, it must be unwound fully before a new one can be installed. On most acoustic or non-electric guitars, each string will need to be freed from a revolving stem and threading hole at the top of the instrument as well as from its anchoring bridge pin at the string's opposite end. This bridge pin must be completely extracted for string removal. A process that usually requires a prying device that is suited to achieving pin extraction without marring either the instrument or the pin, such as the prying feature included on U.S. Pat. No. 2,812,682. After selecting the new string, there is usually considerable slack which must be taken up by manual turning of the string winding key. As for reinserting and setting the anchoring pin, this task is usually accomplished by pushing the pin back in as securely as needed, typically by use of the thumb. This can be a painful task, because considerable force is often required for a secure seating of this pin.
For many years, simple crank-style tools such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,706,254 have been available to ease the winding motion, thereby quickening the tightening or loosening of strings during changing. A simple cranking motion tightens or loosens a selected string. Most of these types of tools provide a 1:1 ratio which can be vexing since most guitar tuning mechanisms have gear ratios of 15:1 or greater. The string winder in U.S. Pat. No. 5,272,953 does include a gear chain to increase turning ratio, but offers limited application due to the single slot design of its key insert and it too must be cranked by what could be tiring wrist motion. Also, it offers no additional guitar tools.
More recently with the proliferation of battery powered screwdrivers, guitar key adaptors have been introduced which allow those drivers to work with guitars, thereby bypassing the tiring motion associated with the task. Challenges persist however since power drivers generally are designed for high torque demands and do not readily exploit the typically low torque state of the guitar key in string maintenance. Also, since there are dozens of types and sizes of guitar winding keys on various instruments, the challenge of aligning the axis of the motorized driver and its attached key insert socket with the guitar key axis becomes evident. It will be noted that the motorized winder in U.S. Pat. No. 4,791,849 utilizes a simple socket design that provides no axis aligning component for the myriad of instruments on the market. Misalignment can reduce the benefit of using these adaptors or drivers and in some cases could distort a guitar key stem out of alignment during use. Additionally there are issues due to battery drainage or power outlet availability as well as the impracticality of stowing a drill or power driver in a guitar case or accessory bag.